Refining Kathanaksaya mechanics

[Green]

Now that I have the system of Kathanaksaya pretty much complete, and I've been playtesting it for a while, my eye now turns to fine-tuning and polishing the material.

Something that's come up a bit while we were playtesting that may influence how I change Kathanaksaya in the future is being able to model the characters' unique skills and abilities while still following the story-oriented play Kathanaksaya is designed for.

I considered rewriting Specialties to represent things like skills or special knacks that a character is particularly good at (same rule applies, just different meaning). I don't know if this will replace Skills and Abilities or not. If it does replace Skills and Abilities, I will probably have to add another element to the mix or increase the point costs of other things. So, tentatively, I'd have something like:

Conflicts 6 points
Themes 6 points
Hook 6 points
Desires/Goals 5 points
Passions (added element of character that details things that the character is particularly attached to or passionate about; like painting, music, science, gardening, or whatever) 5 points
Motivations 5 points
Vulnerabilities 5 points
Flaws 5 points
Significant Life Events 4 points
Relationships 4 points
Psyche (was: Personality; may include ethics and values and beliefs) 4 points
Name 2 points
Appearance 2 points
Quirks 1 point

I am also unsure of whether the interconnectedness of some traits is a good thing or not.

[Green]

Edited: Consolidated into initial post and made more relevant to game design.

[Phillip]

Hey, Green.
Glad to see you are still passionate about this game.
The only thing I can say to improve the game without removing it's simplicity is to do one of the two following things:

- Further consolidation of all the things you define for your character to get SP
- Some simple (or optional) rules to differentiate the various aspects.  For example, Flaws work as reverse Specialties (in other words, the Flaw SUBTRACTS from the initial/total bid).  Passions are minor Specialties- they add +1 or +2 SP to bids involving them.  Motivations can be more clearly placed in the role of being a way for the Narrator to reward good play with extra SP.

I just get the general sense that some of the aspects are just splitting hairs, like Flaws and Vulnerabilities (they could go under just Flaws).  OTOH, you may not see it that way (Flaws are psychological, Vulnerabilities are physical, etc.)

Don't change the concept of Specialties AT ALL; just rename it perhaps.  Specialties are part of what makes the game what it is.

[Green]

Thanks for your reply!

As far as the difference between flaws and vulnerabilities, flaws are based in a moral shortcoming, whereas vulnerabilities are generally amoral.  Greed is a flaw, but a physical, mental, or psychological handicap is a vulnerability.  I hope that explains it.

Regarding Specialties and what not, I personally don't think that Specialties are that big a deal.  The mechanical crux of the game is Story Points and how it directly relates to how developed the character is.  Specialties are entirely optional.  Of course, I may rename it and callit Abilities or something, but that's neither here nor there right now.  In all actuality, it looks like what I formerly had as Specialties are subsumed into Passions for the most part.  I'll have to rethink exactly what Specialties mean to put them back in the way I had them.

As far as the two options you presented that would help refine the game, I prefer your first option to the second because it requires the least tweaking of the system and maintains the integrity of the game rather than making it look like other systems (namely, The Pool or Universalis).  Y'know, I actually had thought I had that written down, but upon looking at the site, I realize it isn't there.